I don't have a lot of experience with samples versus sound modules or keyboards, but little experience I do have would dictate that the samples are generally much better unless you're into the really high end modules like the Korg Triton or the new Yamaha unit. I was using a Korg X5RD (?) and tried out sound fonts on a whim. The sound fonts were quite a bit better than the sound module's sounds especially with strings, horns and drums. I have a friend who uses Cubase and Sampletank. The sounds are pretty amazing. Besides, I like the fact that you can get away with one less piece of hardware.

As far as which samples to use, yes there seems to be a wide range of quality. In my limited experience the free ones aren't very good; at least not much better than the module-generated sounds. You generally have to pay for the better ones and some can be fairly pricey. My friend using Sampletank said there's like a Sampletank club where other people who own it post samples on the web that you can download. Some were kind of cheezy, others were very impressive.

Take a look around soundsonline.com.. I've recently ordered a few things from them and thei company EastWest and also Quantum Leap make a few very impressive sampled instruments.

There are alot of great sampled drum kits coming out that are usable. "DrumKit From Hell" is a good example, it's probably one of the more popular - though perhaps not the best for what you want to do. I also know of "Artisan Drums" which have a number of drums sets and styles.

Like most other sample libraries, there are thousands of different single-note/hit samples with varying velocity and articulations. While getting into these huge sample libraries can be very daunting at first, I don't know of any keyboard that offers the same amount of expression, especially for the amount of money spent.

Ilio's "Double Platinum Drums" are a go-to for me. Actually mixing a country song this evening with them and cut a single about a month ago where I programmed with them. They stood right up against all the live drums on the rest of the record.

My favourite VSTI's generally come from Native Instruments. Check them out!
mIchAEl

My outboard gear has been turned off so long, I should really sell it before it depreciates any more. VSTs are so much better in terms of sound quality, variety and ease of use.

Originally posted by mIchAElpEdErsEn:
My favourite VSTI's generally come from Native Instruments. Check them out!
mIchAEl

Yes. If you want drums, battery is killer. My room mate is in love with Drum kits from Hell running battery. I prefer Native Instruments Synthetic drums myself. (We have set up all our computers as fxteleport boxes on the same hub. Incredible! And then the bastard comes home again, and wants to use my computer!

Keep in mind that there is a bigger difference between virtual analog, or modeling instruments, and Romplers - which are just sample playback units, just like their hardware equivalents by Roland, Korg etc.

There´s a new Drum PlugIn out called "BFD" from
FXPansion --> http://www.fxpansion.com/product-bfd-main.php

In my opinion it´s the best sounding and most flexible
Drum Plugin I have heard. You have the option to
either have the whole Kit on a stereo AUX or have
each drum (Kick, Snare OH´s etc) on a seperate Track.
You can even control the distance of the room mics!!
In my opinion other drum samples like Drumkit from
Hell can even get close to this one.
One thing though is that the libary is quite huge.
It comes on 2 DVDs.

But I´d definitely check out their Homepage and have
a look at it.

tjkili

tjkili,

That thing looks really interesting. I'm using Drumkit From Hell (the original version), and i'm happy with it. Did you mean to say that "...Drumkit From Hell cannot even get close..."?

I haven't used them in a long time, but I used to use SampleTank VST instruments. They had a bunch of decent free ones. It'd be a good way to play around and get used to it anyway.

the spectrasonics bundle is also quite nice.. i've used absynth, but have heard amazing things about Trilogy (for bass) and Stylus (for drums).

Sorry, I gotta buck the trend here. My Motif Rack blows the pants off most of the rompler-style VSTi's IMO. See, the problem is that the general purpose rompler VSTi's (like ST2 and Hypersonic) can't compare, sound for sound, and the specialized rompler VSTi's are just that, specialized, so to replace a synth like the Motif, I'd need several specialized VSTi's.

I sold my original Motif 7, with the mistaken belief that I could replace it with softsynths. Let's just say that I couldn't.

Now for virtual analog, and physical modelling, and so on, its hard to justify spending thousands on hardware, when there are free or relatively cheal software equivalents out there. But having said that, I would part with my leg before I parted with my OASYS.

Some people believe that the 'hardware' of a hardware synth is specifically tuned to reproduce audio, and therefore gives a better sound that its software equivalent. I don't know what it is, but I know that hardware synths will always have a place in my studio.

Mark, you got my vote on that too.

Not to mention that the MoRack will always give me 128 voices, and never tax my CPU, and comes with its own pretty good effects, which, once again, don't tax my CPU!

Did I mention that it doesn't tax my CPU? Especially important for me, as my Quicksilver G4 is getting a bit long in the tooth.

Mark, and others, what type of soundcard do you have in your computer. Do you like it, and why? If you don't like it, what would you get?

Pooch,

I (and I believe Mark as well, right?) have a M-Audio Delta66 that I am very happy with. It has excellent specs, a good price, has stable very low latency drivers (2 msec here), and is just the right size for what I do.

I'm happy with my Delta 66/Omni Studio, until I can afford an RME or Lynx card, and then I won't be happy with my Delta anymore ;)

But seriously, the Delta does everything I would ever need, and does it well. Its a great card for beginners - as I was three years ago - novices - as I still am - and relatively poor/broke musicians - that sounds familiar too!

I was using two 20bit Layla cards before I upgraded to the 24/96 Layla. I'm still using Cubase SX ver. 1.06 which works exceptionally well with the Echo card however the older Echo cards lacked the Adat/optical I/O that's on the newer card. I do have plans on upgrading in the distant future to something that's closer to if not Pro-Tools itself, since you can run it off of a Win 2000 or XP platform now. If possible, I'd like to keep my existing system so I can have the best of both worlds.

speeking of sound cards... i have two CreamWare Luna IIs in my rig (got the other one as a gift or i would have gon with pulser :D ) but the lunas in my rig are just wow... at least for the time being ;)

VSTIs i love them... I use battary, Xphrase, Halion and a few others....

Originally posted by buone:
the spectrasonics bundle is also quite nice.. i've used absynth, but have heard amazing things about Trilogy (for bass) and Stylus (for drums).

Stylus is a very stupid way of accessing drum loops. They chose to make it look the same as the atmosphere and tirlogy set ups, even though it's use is fundamentally different.

They sound nice, but you can get much cheaper collections, such as the Sonic Foundry ones, for much less.

Trilogy I like for just one of the sounds it gives, and I use it on half my songs, so I guess I got my money's worth. It has a bit of 'demoitis' about it's sounds though - the are too full-range for worthwhile use as a bass.

Atmosphere sounds really nice at a first impression, but it suffers a lot from the 'demo-itis', the sounds sound great, but are so think and dense that fitting them into a song becomes too hard. Also, I soon got tired of the 'rompler'ness.

Plug in reverb vs Outboard reverb????

Originally posted by x2x3:
Plug in reverb vs Outboard reverb????

Ooh that's a tough one. Before the influx of convolution reverbs, I would have had to say outboard. But now its not so clear.

Native CPUs are only now becoming powerful enough to run good plugin reverbs. Especially the convolution types. And they still suck all but the most powerful computers dry.

I'd have to say the best reverbs, based solely on sound quality are the native convolution ones, next the outboard ones (lexicon, etc), next native/DSP hybrids (like powercore reverbs), and lastly native algorithm-based reverbs.

On the processing power basis, outboards win, hands down, with native/dsp hybrids next, native algorithm-based reverbs, and lastly convolution reverbs.

Ease of use? Convolution, hands down. Native and Native/DSP next (because of the software interface, and it plops right into your host program. And outboard last, because you have to deal with signal routing out of and back into your DAW, programming the reverb through an LCD with buttons and knobs, and the dreaded file management of dry takes, reverbed takes, etc...

They all have their capabilities and limitations, but its up to you to determine what works for you. I don't use much reverb in my music, and when I do, its for effect, not in mixing, so I tend towards reverbs that make the source stand out. Space Designer does the trick for me.

I also have a Korg OASYS PCI (which lives in a B&W G3), which has excellent effects and, although I've been using it as a synth mostly, I am going to start using it as an outboard effects unit to assist my aging G4 733. In that sense, its like having a 12-bus effects unit, with a GUI, super-flexible routing, and complete MIDI control! I highly suggest everyone with a spare OS9 G3 or Win 98 computer to get one and dedicate a computer to it (or buy yourself a G3 or P2/P3 to host it). Its a classic, and they're going for under $300 used now. And the reverb is really good.

Originally posted by Mark Jones:

Originally posted by x2x3:
[qb] Plug in reverb vs Outboard reverb????

Ooh that's a tough one. Before the influx of convolution reverbs, I would have had to say outboard. But now its not so clear.
I disagree. While there are a lot of crappy reverbs out there, I have native ones that blow the pants off my Oasys card.)(FWIW, I haven't heard any convolution verbs other than the first of all the convolution reverbs - Sonic Foundry's.

Have you tried the Spinaudio Roomverb?

http://www.spinaudio.com/products.php

Once it's digital and there's enough power, there's no difference between outboard, inboard and native DSP.

Furthermore, depending on what you are going for, another favourite of mine is the PSP 84 unit. It's not a realistic reverb, but I'm rarely going for a 'realistic' sound when I reach for it, in any case. It is the mother of all dub delay/verbs.

Ah a fellow OASYS user! Good to know! So you don't think too highly of O-Verb on the OASYS? I think it sounds really good on OASYS synths. I haven't tried it on anything else though.

I have Logic Pro, and as a result, Space Designer. No looking back for me.

But I agree there is no real clean cut winner.